The Calm Before the War
by Super Shadowhenshin
Summary: With everyone else fighting their own battles Trent was stuck holding down the fort at Reefside. Things seemed quiet and boredom was all-encompassing. But a talk with Eric Myers might change that. Then again, things are their most dangerous in silence.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story takes place after Old Friends, New Threats and co-currently with The Long Road to an Old Friend, and The Rescue.**

The Tyranno Slayer stabbed his blade directly through the Tyrannodrones chest. The robotic creature sparked a few seconds as its electric life leaked away and it became a hollow hunk of metal.

The warrior paid its demise no outward attention instead, he cut down another one of its kind with swift precision.

Littered around him were countless others, all dead. He had been mindlessly fighting for the last few hours.

It was one of the only sports keeping him sane.

When he wasn't in the heat of battle the feelings would return. The lingering guilt would settle in his chest and fester, grief and horror too.

It felt as if his very existence was slowly being torn apart.

It was the _Other_. The one that had formerly been a clone of Trent Mercer. It was growing restless.

"Impressive," Drakkon said as he stepped into the room. "But maybe you could destroy something that _isn't_ going to do my hard labor."

The Tyranno Slayer growled in response. Surprisingly the action had come from the will of Conner.

"Why don't you step up?" The warrior asked.

"Me?" Drakkon asked with a grin. "I don't have the energy to waste on that."

Tyranno Slayer tightened his grip on his blade. A part of him hated Drakkon.

And he didn't know which.

* * *

Trent knew that if he spent another night in his empty house he was going to lose his mind. It had been a little over a week since Hayley had left with the Zeo Rangers to find Kat, and in that time life had slowed to a horrible crawl.

Trent stood at the door, frozen with fear. He didn't even know what he was doing.

He looked down both ends of the narrow hallway and knocked.

At first, there was silence.

So he knocked again.

"What do you want?!" A voice called out. "It's two in the damn morning!"

"It's me," Trent said loudly enough to penetrate the wood door.

There a few seconds of nothing.

"Come on in," The voice called back.

Trent stepped into the hotel room to find Eric Myers in basketball shorts and a plain shirt. It looked surreal compared to his normal attire, but it would be far weirder for him to be lounge around in his uniform.

"So what do you need champ?" Eric asked from the plush hotel couch.

"It's been quiet," Trent said out loud, "I can't stand it."

Eric nodded, "Sometimes it's the worst. When you're fighting you don't have to think. When everything dies down you actually have to deal with things."

"Well, how do you do it?" Trent asked.

Eric held up his can of beer, "I find a way."

The two sat in a festering silence, but if Trent was being honest it was still a whole lot better then when he was alone.

"Just breathe," Eric said with his eyes closed.

"Huh?"

"You're a Power Ranger, and eventually something is gonna try to rip your head off. So you just gotta breathe when you can." Eric reached into his mini fridge, pulled out another beer and held it out.

"I-I'm not old to drink."

"Well I'm not going to tell anyone," Eric said with a shrug, "it'll be a secret between us Sixes."

"Sixes?"

"Yeah. Sixth Rangers like us gotta stick together."

"My team doesn't even have six Rangers," Trent said.

Eric shrugged, "Different color scheme, fancy armor, plus you tried to kill your teammates on several occasions. As far as I'm concerned that makes you as much of a sixth Ranger as anyone else."

Trent reluctantly took the beer from Eric and popped it open with a faint hiss. He looked down at it, he'd never had an alcoholic drink before.

"I was fourteen when I had my first beer," Eric said in a nostalgic voice. "It was one of the few times my dad wasn't beating the shit out of me."

Trent looked down at the fizzing liquid, he couldn't help but wonder if Anton would disprove. Not that it would even matter anymore.

The beer was more bitter than Trent had assumed it would be. In fact, it didn't taste very good at all.

"You get used to it," Eric said and sat down his empty can, "Or you just keep drinking until you don't care."

Trent forced down another gulp, "Do you think we can actually stop Drakkon? It just seems so impossible."

"Always seems like that," Eric said, "But in the end, we find a way."

"What if we can't?" Trent asked in a somber tone, "What if this is the time we lose?"

"We won't know until it's too late," Eric replied, "So we might as well fight like hell."

Somehow, despite his gnawing anxiety, and the near-crippling pressure, that answer was enough.

* * *

The night air was hot and humid, the sound of machinery bounced around the quarry. Tyrannodrones and Oozemen alike were buzzing with activity, moving large rocks and working other contraptions. From the mindless determination of the grunt workers a strange fortress as beginning to form.

Finster watched the progress with a reserved joy. Despite the joy of watching his creation form, there was no time to relish in it. Under the excitement rested anxiety.

"You must work faster!" Finster exclaimed, "Drakkon wants us finished before the end of the week."

He rubbed his hands together, watching as a group of Tyrannodrones knocked over a slate of metal and scrambled to push it back up.

"Oh dear…" Finster mumbled to himself, "If this doesn't work out I'm as good as dead."

* * *

Ivan Ooze sent an arc of purple lightning out from his finger and caused a nearby computer monitor to explode.

The last week had been nothing but generating Oozemen, and not even for anything fun, just for free labor!

Needless to say, things were getting boring.

It was then that the ancient sorcerer noticed the Tyranno Slayer sneaking around the base. The young boy was in his human form and to be up to _something_.

"Hey, you!" Ivan Ooze called out, "What are you doing?"

The boy shrugged, "Going on a walk."

"Great!" Ivan Ooze exclaimed, "I'll come with! I've been meaning to do some grocery shopping."

"I specifically remember Drakkon telling you to lay low until further notice," The boy replied.

Ivan Ooze growled under his breath. Despite being an all-powerful creature of destruction he still _needed_ Drakkon, and couldn't risk getting on his bad side. "Well, what about you?"

"I'm not going out to cause trouble," Conner said with a dubious grin, "I'm just going to visit an old friend."


	2. Chapter 2

When Trent awoke he couldn't remember where he was. His brain was foggy and nothing about his

surrounding was even remotely familiar.

He looked at the cheap, perfect, walls for advice but nothing was registering.

"You blacked out pretty hard," Eric Myers said with a chuckle. "You'd have thought you drank more than a couple of beers."

"Oh yeah…" Trent mumbled as everything came back together.

"I have a meeting at ten," Eric said as he buttoned up his uniform jacket in the bathroom, "Wanna go get breakfast before that. My treat."

"Yeah," Trent said, finding his spirits momentarily lifted. "That actually sounds pretty good."

* * *

Conner walked down the street with a grin on his face. He had ditched the red t-shirt and jeans for a black combat uniform he had swiped from Drakkon. The old Conner would think his new threads were tacky, but he could now see the practicality of the outfit.

Plus he kinda liked black.

He closed his eyes and let his senses guide him. The connection was faint, muddled by the fusion between the two personalities, but it was there nonetheless.

Conner casually looked towards the civilians as he passed. They were all anxious, still shaken from the previous battles and the ever changing status quo. This brought him some inner satisfaction, he craved chaos and the power it provided.

He moved on, growing more and more excited with each step. Soon enough he would grab destiny by the tail and drag victory towards himself.

The world would belong to him.

"When I offered you breakfast I expected us to eat somewhere a little more… fancy," Eric looked down at his sliders with a conflicted expression.

Trent shrugged, "White Castle is kinda my comfort food."

While eating the White Ranger had found his hand-drawn to the pen in his pocket. For weeks artist block had plagued any sort of creative endeavor.

But now things were seeming to fall into place.

Lines formed on the back of their paper placemat. They were swift and shaky as if his fingers had to be acquainted with the tool. It was slow work, feeling more like a sculptor having to physically carve his creation into existence.

"What are you working on over there?" Eric asked in between bites of food.

Trent just shrugged, he wasn't even sure yet. At first, he had thought it was a superhero, that been his obsession his entire life. But as the muscular build began to evolve further things became more complicated. Instead of a red flowing cape, Trent found himself drawing wide, feathery wings, and instead of a look of heroism and justice, there was nothing but aggression across his square jaw.

With a strange sense of satisfaction, Trent realized he had drawn a fierce angel. He soared through the air with a sword of pure fire.

"That's pretty good," Eric said, "Maybe after all of this Ranger stuff you could be a comic book artist or something."

Trent blushed, "Yeah, maybe." For the first time since this nightmare started Trent found himself lost in a sea of possibility.

The looming threat of Drakkon melted away and Trent envisioned himself as an adult, stress-free and a successful comic artist.

A smile spread across his face as he looked down at his illustration, imagining it as the precursor to some big break.

It was then that the doors burst open like a drunk had just slammed into them. The thud echoed around the restaurant, causing a silence to follow.

Everything else in the world stopped as Trent watched him step inside of the building.

Conner smiled, it was a smile of friendliness, so convincing it only furthered the rage building in Trent's chest.

"Long time no see," Conner said as he approached the duo. He lifted Trent's cup up to his mouth and took a sip. "How's it going?"

"What are you doing here?" Trent asked, trying his hardest to hold back.

"Can't I just stop by and say hi to a friend?" Conner asked with a smug smile.

"Last I checked we weren't friends, and that's _before_ you started working for that psychopath," Trent hissed.

"I think you're just jealous," Conner said, moving his face only a few inches away from Trent's, "I had the guts to do what you were so scared of." His eyes seemed to almost glow, "I killed your daddy."

Conner wasn't prepared for what came next. His head flew back as Trent's fist connected with his cheekbone. The teen fell into the next booth. Trent's drink exploded against Conner's chest and drenched his black shirt in an ugly dark stain. Shock quickly shifted to anger as he pushed himself back up.

"Oh, did I strike a nerve?" Conner asked. "Why don't you try that again?"

Trent leaped out of the booth but was immediately restrained by Eric.

"He's baiting you," The Quantum Ranger said, "Don't give in."

"Oh, so you're letting your boyfriend call the shots now?" Conner asked. "That's cute."

Trent shook Eric off and stepped up to Conner. "Let me ask you again. What do you want?"

"What do you think I want?" Conner asked. A gold-hilted blade materialized in his hand. "I want a rematch." There was a look of pure malice on the boy's face, something that was so familiar to Trent it almost hurt, but he couldn't quite place it.

Trent didn't back down, instead, he leaned forward and moved his hand over his morpher.

"Hey, guys," Eric said and stood up himself, "I don't think that brawling it out in the middle of a White Castle is going to do any good."

"Not only is your boyfriend a geezer," Conner said, "But a pussy too."

Trent stopped and looked around. Despite all of their ruckus, no one had even made a move towards the door. "If you wanna fight I won't back down, but there's no point getting innocent people hurt."

Conner chuckled darkly to himself, "Like that's stopped you before." Before Trent could even deliver a reply Conner grabbed hold of his morpher and said, "Tyranno Slayer!"

Trent jumped moments before the crimson-colored Ranger swung his sword down, slicing the booth they had been sitting at in half.

It was then that chaos erupted in the restaurant. Before it had all been fun and games, just two teen boys duking it out, but now that a Power Ranger had joined the fray nobody wanted to stay and watch.

Trent rolled to his feet, grabbing his Morpher in one hand. Alright, you've given me no-"

"Quantum Power!"

Trent watched as the Quantum Ranger jumped at the Triassic Slayer with his own sword drawn.

A line of sparks exploded from the Triassic Slayer's chest as Eric stood between Trent and the evil Ranger. "If I'm such a geezer why can't you catch up?" Eric asked.

The Triassic Slayer roared with frustration as he charged forward, but the Quantum Ranger easily dodged each of his advances. While Triassic Slayer arguably had more power at his disposal the Quantum Ranger was trained soldier with years of battle experience.

They clashed blades with an explosion of sparks and actual wisps of concentrated energy. Triassic Slayer managed to shove the Quantum Ranger backward and send him crashing through the wall of the building.

For a second there was silence.

"It's only a matter of time before you tire yourself out," Triassic Slayer said as he approached the hole in the wall. "It might be in your best interest to quit while you're ahead."

A blast energy hit the crimson Ranger and exploded violently against his armor.

"I'm just getting started," Eric said with his sword now in its blaster mode. "And don't worry, I can go all day."

"I'd stop while you're ahead," Triassic Slayer said as his sword began to glow with golden energy, "Before I have to do anything rash."

"I can take anything you throw at me," The Quantum Ranger replied. His body moved back and forth as if he were charged by a live wire.

The Triassic Ranger just laughed before launching the wave of golden energy.

The Quantum Ranger was ready, his body bent forward to either dodge or even deflect the attack.

But the attack wasn't aimed at him.

Trent gasped as the golden blast exploded against a nearby building, causing what appeared to be a gnarly gash across it. There was a tremendous shaking before the structure collapsed to rubble.

"Lucky that building was empty," Triassic Slayer said smugly, "But that luck won't last forever."

"I guess I'm going to have to speed this up," Eric muttered, "Mega Battle, Activate!"

In a rush of flames, the Ranger's Battlizer formed around him.

"Just when I thought your suit couldn't get any gayer, you had to add giant roller skates!" Triassic Slayer exclaimed.

The Quantum Ranger drew his blaster and fired several shots into the evil Ranger.

The red colored energy was easily swatted away by the golden blade. "Real cute…" Tyranno Slayer muttered. 'But I'm tired of playing games with you."

The Quantum Ranger paid this no notice and instead sped forward, a blur of motion with his blade drawn.

His sword swung like a sideways guillotine towards the Ranger's head.

But the Tyranno Slayer jumped right over it.

There was a faint chuckle from the evil Ranger and he plunged his sword forward.

Pushing it right through the Ranger's chest.

Eric looked down at the blade as it slid out of his body, one word escaping his lips before his armor escaped him.

"Fuck…"

His body fell to the ground.

Trent was running before he had a plan.

"White Ranger, Dino Power!"

The White Ranger slashed his blade against Tyranno Slayer's thick armor. As he ran past and then broke into a roll to turn himself around.

"So now you've got some fight in you!" Tyranno Slayer howled. "I've been waiting for this."

The White Ranger fought with a ferocity that surprised even himself, using his enhanced speed to blur his blade into a relentless block of motion.

All of which were deflected by the evil Ranger.

"I know all of your moves," the evil Ranger said, parrying with ease. "I was there when you learned them!" With a powerful spin kick, the White Ranger was sent flying backward. "But I've only been getting stronger."

The White Ranger pulled himself back to his feet, his body shaking with rage. Here was the man who had killed his father, mocking him and spinning around the blade already wet with the fresh blood of another victim.

He needed to end things here.

Trent closed his fists together, feeling his body pulse with a ravenous energy.

"You're going to pay for what you've done," Trent growled.

"Ohhh I'm so scared," Tyranno Slayer teased, "You're going to need a better one-liner then that!"

It was like a savage beast, clawing relentlessly at its cage. Using every ounce of its strength to get free.

And Trent finally let it.

Suddenly the White Rangers armor began to glow with a bright golden energy. He tilted his head back and howled.

"Super Dino-Mode!"

In a flash of pure morphin energy, Trent's suit began to shift. The black edges of his suit began to sprout into long spikes, extending up to his chest armor with two spikes extending down from his wrists.

In that moment thought completely disappeared from the White Ranger's mind. His body became a weapon, a force of nature.

He moved towards the Tyranno Slayer with an animalistic charge.

The two engaged in fresh combat. Trent had abandoned his sword and instead lashed out with his twin spikes, using them like claws. While Tyranno Slayer seemed to use every ounce of concentration just parrying against the opposing Ranger.

Somewhere buried deep in the Ranger was satisfaction in watching his opponent pushed to the very edge if his limits.

And Trent still had a hell of a lot more to give.

With a satisfying thud and a rush of bright sparks, the White Ranger got his first hit in. His spike flanked the Tyranno Slayer side, catching the evil Ranger off guard and letting Trent get another blow in.

With his enemy stunned the White Ranger went all out, screaming and swinging his arms as sparks fluttered around like snow during a blizzard.

And when Conner's armor exploded, and he was left defenseless with a trail of blood leaking down his mouth,Trent couldn't help but grin from under his helmet and raise his arm for the finishing blow.

A clap echoed around the battlefield.

"I _knew_ you had it in you!"

Trent froze.

"I told you before, we aren't that different."

Trent turned away from the beaten Conner and towards the man standing cooly by himself, a sideways smirk on his face.

"Rage is power, Trent Mercer," Drakkon said with an outstretched hand.

The White Ranger lept in the air and swung his spike towards the villain, but Drakkon quickly ducked and punched Trent in the chest.

Even with the protection of his suit, Trent could feel the air get knocked out of his lungs.

"I could make you stronger," Drakkon said, "I could help you _ascend_."

Trent caught his breath, the blow having let him regain some of himself.

"Go fuck yourself…" The White Ranger barked.

Drakkon shook his head. "The world doesn't service the weak. It's only matter of time until you understand that."

The Dr.O from another world approached the unmorphed Conner and lifted him into the air.

" _Absolutely pathetic…_ " he muttered and stepped into an invisiportal.

Trent jumped towards the villain, but the portal disappeared moments before the White Ranger could make contact with hit the ground and slid across the concrete, alone in the silent street.

* * *

Back at his island Drakkon smiled as his hands curled around his new toy. Collecting the Quantum Morpher hadn't been a part of his original plan, but it was certainly a nice treat. The Ranger could _feel_ the energy leaking from the device. It held potential far greater than even the Quantum Ranger himself had realized.

Maybe more then even it's creators had realized.

"And how are is the project progressing?" Drakkon asked Finster as he waddled down the hall.

"Very smooth sir!" The white creature snapped, "The structure is nearing completion."

Drakkon smiled, looking down at his newest prize. "What about the _other_ project?"

"Slower..." Finster admitted, "Finding a new power source has proven difficult."

"Well, what about this?" He asked and revealed the morpher.

"That would be perfect," Finster said and took the device.

Drakkon laughed, but something still snagged inside himself. Despite his wealth of fortune since arriving in this world the Ranger from another world couldn't shake a disturbing feeling in his stomach.

He needed to win fast before anyone else could enter the board.

"I want that morpher completely reverse engineered, every bit of useable tech salvaged," Drakkon felt a joy rise to his chest. With things so _close_ it was time to enact the next phase. "Activate the portal, bring the castle over."

"It shall be done," Finster said and waddled off.


	3. Chapter 3

The being residing inside of Conner clenched his fist in frustration.

So close.

So goddamn close!

It was that damned _other one_.

As the Tyranno Slayer, he had been able to push further toward perfection than ever before. But all of that was moot with the other force of will inside himself. It actively defied him with every step he took.

If he was ever going to defeat Trent Mercer, he needed to find a way to act _alone_.

* * *

The hospital room was stuffy and awkward, Wes was sitting with his hands on his head leaning down.

"You don't have to look so morbid," Eric Myer murdered. "I'm not dead."

Trent couldn't help but relate to the Red Ranger. There was something overwhelmingly depressing about seeing such a hard ass like Eric hooked up to so many different machines.

In truth they should all feel hopeful, it was actually a miracle that Eric had survived at all. If not for the protection of his Quantum Ranger powers he wouldn't be around to complain about hospital food.

As if reading Trent's thoughts Eric looked down at his wrist, now bare with only a tan line to show where a morpher sat.

"That bastard is going to pay," Eric muttered. "For taking my morpher… and everything else." Eric looked down in shame, too embarrassed still to say the rest.

While the suit had stopped any major organ damage, it wasn't able to protect his spinal cord.

And odds are Eric Myer wouldn't ever walk again.

"Don't you two have places to be?" Eric snapped suddenly.

The outburst made Trent jump and then immediately lock up.

"Yeah," Wes said and guided Trent towards the door. "We'll let you rest."

The Red Ranger closed the door behind them and pulled Trent aside.

"You have to cut him some slack," Wes said. "This isn't going to be easy for him."

"Yeah," Trent said. "I can imagine." In truth Trent didn't blame Eric in the slightest, he actually wished the former Ranger would have more harsh.

After all, this was all Trent's fault anyway.

Suddenly the ground below them began to shake, pictures on the all fell over and crashed, and chaos erupted through the hospital.

" _Something's happening,_ " Jason's voice broke through Wes's Morpher, " _And you're gonna want to see it!"_

Wes nodded and turned to Trent.

In mutual understanding, they both replied, "Right."

There would be time to sulk later.

 **A/N: Sorry about the delay, other obligations prevented me from posting earlier in the week as usual. But here we are :).**

 **Join me next time as the Battle of Reefside finally begins, and the sparks of war engulf the entire city in its greatest conflict.**


End file.
